Towards agent-oriented model-driven architecture

Model Driven Architecture supports the transformation from reusable models to executable software. Business representations, however, cannot be fully and explicitly represented in such models for direct transformation into running systems. Thus, once business needs change, the language abstractions used by MDA (e.g. Object Constraint Language / Action Semantics), being low level, have to be edited directly. We therefore describe an Agent-oriented Model Driven Architecture (AMDA) that uses a set of business models under continuous maintenance by business people, reflecting the current business needs and being associated with adaptive agents that interpret the captured knowledge to behave dynamically. Three contributions of the AMDA approach are identified: 1) to Agent-oriented Software Engineering, a method of building adaptive Multi-Agent Systems; 2) to MDA, a means of abstracting high level business-oriented models to align executable systems with their requirements at runtime; 3) to distributed systems, the interoperability of disparate components and services via the agent abstraction.

Integrated clinical pathway management for medical quality improvement-based on a semiotically inspired systems architecture

Clinical pathway is an approach to standardise care processes to support the implementations of clinical guidelines and protocols. It is designed to support the management of treatment processes including clinical and non-clinical activities, resources and also financial aspects. It provides detailed guidance for each stage in the management of a patient with the aim of improving the continuity and coordination of care across different disciplines and sectors. However, in the practical treatment process, the lack of knowledge sharing and information accuracy of paper-based clinical pathways burden health-care staff with a large amount of paper work. This will often result in medical errors, inefficient treatment process and thus poor quality medical services. This paper first presents a theoretical underpinning and a co-design research methodology for integrated pathway management by drawing input from organisational semiotics. An approach to integrated clinical pathway management is then proposed, which aims to embed pathway knowledge into treatment processes and existing hospital information systems. The capability of this approach has been demonstrated through the case study in one of the largest hospitals in China. The outcome reveals that medical quality can be improved significantly by the classified clinical pathway knowledge and seamless integration with hospital information systems.

Der ostasiatische Einfluss auf die Baukunst des Abenlandes, vornehmlich Deutschlands, im 18. Jahrhundert.

Bibliography: p. [iv]

4th European Conference on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Architecture and Planning : Donostia-San Sebastián, 1-3 Julio 2013

XXXII Cursos de Verano de la UPV/EHU

5th European Conference on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Architecture and Planning : Donostia-San Sebastián, 7-9 Julio 2014

XXXIII Cursos de Verano de la UPV/EHU

6th European Conference on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Architecture and Planning

[ES]Esta obra recoge las comunicaciones seleccionadas para el 6º Congreso Europeo sobre Eficiencia Energética y Sostenibilidad en Arquitectura, organizado por el grupo de investigación Calidad de Vida en Arquitectura de la Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea. El congreso, que se celebra en el marco de los XXXIV Cursos de Verano de la UPV/EHU, aborda en esta cuarta edición el tema “Ciudades en riesgo: resiliencia y redundancia”. Alrededor de este tema general se desarrollan cinco ponencias magistrales, a cargo de Margaretha Breil (Centro Euro-Mediterráneo para el Cambio Climático), Cristina Garzillo Leemhuis (ICLEI), Ignasi Fontanals (OptiCits), Juan Carlos Barrios Montenegro (Global Action Plan) y Manuel Valdés López (Ajuntament de Barcelona). Además, 24 comunicaciones seleccionadas por el comité científico presentarán trabajos de investigaciones actuales en las sesiones orales y póster. Es objetivo paralelo del congreso es fortalecer las líneas de investigación en eficiencia energética y sostenibilidad de los grupos de investigación y formación de la UPV/ EHU comprometidos con esta propuesta, con objeto de colaborar en el reforzamiento de la I D i en su ámbito de conocimiento y apoyar la apuesta específica de los Gobiernos Central y Vasco, así como de otras instituciones nacionales e internacionales respecto a las actividades de I D i en las materias relacionadas con el cambio climático, la eficiencia energética y la sostenibilidad ambiental [ENG] This work contains the selected abstracts of the 6th European Conference on Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Architecture and Planning, organized by the research group Quality of life in Architecture of the University of the Basque Country. The conference is part of the XXXIV Summer Courses of the UPV/EHU and deals, in its fourth edition, with the topic “Cities at risk: resilience and redundancy”. Around this general theme there are five invited speakers: Margaretha Breil (Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change), Cristina Garzillo Leemhuis (ICLEI), Ignasi Fontanals (OptiCits), Juan Carlos Barrios Montenegro (Global Action Plan) y Manuel Valdés López (Barcelona City Council). 24 abstracts additional have been selected by the scientific committee that offer actual research works in presentations and posters. The purpose of the conferences is to strengthen the investigation lines in energy efficiency and sustainability of the research and education groups of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) involved, with the purpose of collaborating in the reinforcement of the I D i in its field of knowledge, and support the specific projects of the Central and Basque Governments, as well as other national and international institutions related to the I Di activities in similar fields of climate change, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

LUPA: a European initiative taking advantage of the canine genome architecture for unravelling complex disorders in both human and dogs

The domestic dog offers a unique opportunity to explore the genetic basis of disease, morphology and behaviour. Humans share many diseases with our canine companions, making dogs an ideal model organism for comparative disease genetics. Using newly developed resources, genome-wide association studies in dog breeds are proving to be exceptionally powerful. Towards this aim, veterinarians and geneticists from 12 European countries are collaborating to collect and analyse the DNA from large cohorts of dogs suffering from a range of carefully defined diseases of relevance to human health. This project, named LUPA, has already delivered considerable results. The consortium has collaborated to develop a new high density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. Mutations for four monogenic diseases have been identified and the information has been utilised to find mutations in human patients. Several complex diseases have been mapped and fine mapping is underway. These findings should ultimately lead to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying complex diseases in both humans and their best friend.

Architecture of European plastic surgery

The architecture of European Plastic Surgery was published in 1996 [Nicolai JPA, Scuderi N. Plastic surgical Europe in an organogram. Eur J Plast Surg 1996; 19: 253-256.] It is the objective of this paper to update information of that article. Continuing medical education (CME), science, training, examination, quality assurance and relations with the European Commission and Parliament all are aspects covered by the organisations to be discussed.